The Worst is Ahead
by hufflepuffs-can-find
Summary: Pitch is back! But this time with allies. Jack, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel must stop this evil or risk an all out war. One that could cover the world. First RotBTD story. T for some violence and language
1. Prologue

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ: this is my first RotBTD story, I do not own any of the characters, (except some minor OCs in later chapters) and all the pairings are cannon. I changed the time period in Burgess to fit the other three places better because I thought that it would be a bit more believable and I didn't want to mess with time streams or alternate universes or anything like that. Also, they all already know each other. I couldn't figure out how to start this that wasn't cliché or already done so… if enough people like the story I may make a prequel, but that's neither here not there right now. So without further ado…**

**Prologue**

Pain. That's all he knew anymore. The throbbing and aching of his beaten and abused body was the only thing that told him he was still living. But even that was beginning to fade. He was beginning to feel disembodied, he knew if this kept up he wasn't long for this world.

He felt some pride in the fact that he had not given in or begged for mercy. He was a Viking after all, tough. He pretty much believed that now. He had screamed and cried out from the pain, that was unavoidable, but he would not beg and he would not cave. He would die here, and take his secrets with him to his grave, he only hoped now that he died soon, he would rather face death than have the torture continue the way it was. He was glad he had been brought alone, at the threat of his own life, he could resist; at the threat of another's, he would have given in weeks ago.

Two weeks? Was that how long it had been? It felt longer, and he was starting to lose track. It didn't matter anyway, there was no way out. He had tried quite a few times, but his strength was gone. He could only hope now that when his tribe was attacked, they would be ready. There was nothing he could do for them anymore.


	2. Ch 1: Trouble is Brewing

**Alvin the Treacherous is from Riders of Berk… he is the only non-movie character here for now.**

* * *

**Part 1: The Rescue**

**Ch. 1: Trouble is brewing**

"North, there better be a bloody good reason why you called us here!" Bunnymund said angrily, "I can't keep comin' up to the pole like this, I'm not meant for the cold." He held his right foot up to the fireplace, rubbing some feeling back into them and repeated the process with the other foot.

"Is good reason, Bunny, I promise." North reassured, his face jolly as usual but masked a seriousness behind it. "Manny says it is serious, the children are once again in danger!"

"Is it Pitch?" Toothina asked, having only just flown through the window but catching the last part of what North said.

"Impossible!" Bunny exclaimed, "There's no way Pitch is strong enough! It's only been five years, if that wank stain thinks that he could possibly take us on so soon after we defeated him, then he's dumber than a wagon load of rocks!"

"Is not Pitch!" Exclaimed North, "Or at least not Pitch alone. You are right, Bunny, he is not strong enough on his own. But I believe there is someone, or something, helping him."

A golden question mark materialized above the Sandman's head. "I don't know who or what," North answered, "but something bad, I feel it, in my belly!" The large man grabbed and jiggled his stomach for emphasis. The Easter Bunny rolled his eyes, the old man put too much on his gut feeling, but it had proven correct more often than naught.

"Did Manny give us any specific instructions?" Tooth asked, hovering just above the other three.

North's face grew somber, and he ran a large hand through his beard. "Manny wants to use Jack's team." Their eyes widened. "He says they are the only ones who can defeat this evil." The Man in the Moon had established a team for Jack Frost two years previously. Trouble had been brewing more often in the world and the five guardians were having trouble keeping up, especially with the original four having to work as hard as they did to keep the children believing and maintaining the hope and wonder they put into the world. Jack's team, however, had not been chosen from the magical community, but three extraordinary humans. It was unorthodox, to say the least, but they did not question it. So far, it seemed the Man in the Moon knew what he was doing.

"No!" Bunny exclaimed, "Whatever this is, we can deal with it, we are not sending those children out to do our job!"

"I agree with Bunny." Tooth piped in, "I won't ask children to fight our fight!" Sandman nodded in agreement. They did not doubt the Man in the Moon, but sometimes it was hard to trust his judgment, especially when he was sending out a comparatively inexperienced team to fight an evil that almost destroyed them five years previous.

North sighed, "They are not children anymore." He pointed out. "Rapunzel is now twenty, married with a calm head on her shoulders, still innocent, but with spunk and courage to go along with it. And Merida has entered adulthood as well, now eighteen and shaping up to be very fine, still headstrong, princess who will make an excellent queen. She is strong, brave and sure."

"What about Hiccup?" Tooth argued, "He's still so young!"

"Hiccup is sixteen, and has fought through his fair share of battles." North reasoned, "He is no longer a child either. We see them as being so young because we have lived countless lifetimes, but in reality, they are not children at all. They have been a team for two years now, and have fought their wars and helped us with ours, we cannot think of this as something so much worse."

"But it is worse!" Bunny exclaimed. "It's Pitch! That tosser has no qualms about how he achieves his goals and who he hurts in the process. In fact! I think hurting people is like bonus points!"

"Bunny," Tooth intervened, "We have to trust Manny and Jack's team to be able to handle this threat." She knew that the Man in the Moon had a purpose for everything he did, and he had not led them astray yet.

"I still don't like it." Muttered Bunny, "No matter what they've done before, I don't think it's right to saddle 'em with our job. I mean, this is Pitch we're talking about, not some mindless ogre stealing children from a nearby village. They are not ready!"

"This time, is not our job." North sighed, "Manny says it must be them, that this is their fight." Bunny glared at the floor and crossed his arms.

"Bunny," Tooth said quietly, "they'll be alright. Jack will be with them." Bunny gave a snort, but his gaze softened. "And it's not like we have to let them go in totally alone, we will always provide help when they need it."

A myriad of images appeared over Sandy's head his face inquisitive. "That's a good question," The fairy responded, "where are Jack and the other's North?"

The bearded man gave a chuckle, "I'm sending the signal now." He turned a handle and pushed down in it, sending four streams of the aurora borealis in different directions. "I wanted to get all of your reactions out of the way first, there was no reason for them to be here to hear you all get so angry in there defense."

Tooth giggled and Bunny rolled his eyes. Sandy nodded sagely, watching the lights fly off from the Pole; all they had to do now was wait.

* * *

Laughter was one of Jack's favorite sounds, he liked to make it, and he liked to make other people make it. Especially if the person he was making laugh was Jamie. He knew he wasn't supposed to pick favorites; they guarded all the children of the world, after all, and there were a lot of them. But Jamie was his first believer, and so for Jack, he held a special place in his heart.

At the moment he was sledding with the boy' flying above him, actually, and making a smooth ice path for him to speed along on. They had played this game before Jamie had even seen him, but now, with them laughing together, it was much more fun.

His kid was thirteen now, not so much a child, and one of the only kids who still remembered and believed in that night they had beaten Pitch so long ago. The only other one was Cupcake. Jack had more believers now across the world, including Sophie, but it made him slightly sad to think that no matter what he did, there would always be children who would grow up and stop believing. If the winter spirit was honest with himself, he was afraid that Jamie would one day forget, just like all the others.

"Jack! Look out!" Jamie yelled pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked down to see the boy headed straight towards the town square, jam-packed with people.

"Trust me, kid, and hang on tight!" He yelled down at the boy. Flicking his staff at an upward angle, he made a ramp for Jamie to jump over the public. The brunet hit it fast and was soon soaring over the villagers, earning a few shouts of surprise from the onlookers below. As Jamie began his decent, Jack made a ramp down so that the boy didn't crash down on his face like he had the first time. They sped along for a while more before the sled finally slowed to a stop.

"That was so cool!" Jamie gasped, trying to catch his breath. "I can't believe how I flew over those People! I was scared you wouldn't catch me!"

"Have I ever let you down?" Jack chuckled and Jamie shook his head. "Exactly! And I never-" Jack looked up and saw the northern lights, "-will." Jamie looked up and saw what he was looking at.

"Santa's calling, huh?" Jack nodded. "Well go on, then," the teen laughed, "I have chores to do anyway and you're distracting me!"

Jack stuck out his tongue immaturely, "yeah whatever, I'll see ya later, alright, kid?" He said as he flew off.

"Yeah, later!" Jamie yelled after him before picking up his sled and heading home.

* * *

The sun shone bright on the kingdom of Corona, and Rapunzel was out for a walk through the town with Pascal, her oldest friend. Some people thought it was strange that her best friend was a chameleon, but they put it down to the solitude she had been forced into for eighteen years. But no one questioned if that same solitude made her unfit to rule, for she was compassionate and it was clear how much she truly loved the people she had only known for two years.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel!" The princess turned as she watched a young blonde girl run through the streets. "Princess!" She panted as she got closer and stopped for a minute to rest her hands on her knees.

"Hello, Sarah." Rapunzel smiled down at the girl.

"I made something for you!" Sarah said excitedly, "here." The small girl handed the princes a folded piece of paper. Rapunzel unfolded it and looked down at a colorful picture of herself and lots of village people around her. There were hearts around them, showing how happy the kingdom was and how they all love her. Rapunzel put a hand on her heart and beamed at the girl.

"It's beautiful!" She exclaimed, "I love it! You did a wonderful job!" The girl was practically glowing at the praise. She bounced on her toes and opened her mouth to say something, but a voice calling a little ways off stopped her.

"I have to go help my mom in the flower shop now," the little girl explained, "but I wanted to give that to you first." Sarah said. "Bye, Princess!" She waved and ran off, Rapunzel waved after her.

"Isn't that just adorable!" A voice came from behind the princess. Her heart raced and her eyes widened. Quickly, she spun on her heal and turned around, but there was no one there. After a few moments of shock, she caught her breath, although there was still a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"That's impossible." Rapunzel whispered, "You're dead." At that moment she looked up at the sky and saw green and pink lights. "Just a coincidence." She told herself as she ran toward the castle.

Upon entering the castle grounds she immediately sought out her husband. "Eugene!" She called when she found him, "the lights, North is calling me." His face grew slightly troubled, then he simply looked resigned. He walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"I don't like when you get called away," He sighed, "I never know if you're in danger, and I always worry." He loved her so much it scared him sometimes.

She rose to her tiptoes and kissed his lips, "don't worry about me, I'll be fine! You know the other three, they'll keep me safe." She smirked, "I'm not entirely helpless either, you know, I did manage to take you out with my frying pan once or twice."

Her husband didn't look amused, "Look, Rapunzel, I think it's great that you help protect the children of the world, I'm proud of you. But I think you should learn how to fight properly before going out on these ventures." Her face fell and he prepared himself for an argument when he was done saying what needed to be said. "A frying pan in not a weapon, I think you need a sword or a dagger, something that can protect you better from whatever you go up against."

"I am pretty capable with my healing powers and frying Pan." she countered, obviously exasperated with the argument they had had countless times before. "And I will never fight to kill; if you knew me at all, you wouldn't ask me to." She would never take a life, she couldn't.

Eugene raised his hands in defense, deciding that this time the conversation was not worth continuing. "You're right, Blondie," he still used that nickname, even though she was no longer a blonde. "You're right." As much as he worried for her safety, he was proud of the fact that she stuck by her convictions, and he also thought it was admirable that she was determined not to kill, no matter how much danger she was in, although that fact also drove him crazy with worry as well. "You should go get dressed warmly if you're going to the North Pole. I'll go get one of those snow globes North gave you to get there." She gave him another kiss and ran off to get ready.

He sighed as he watched her go. He knew this was important to her, and he was proud of her, he just wished it wasn't always dangerous. He walked off to get the globe, hoping that his wife would not be away long.

* * *

Merida DunBroch raced through the glade on Angus, shooting at all the targets she had set up, each one a perfect bullseye. She laughed and shook her hair out of her face, she loved the feeling of the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin.

Her world was at peace; it had been ever since the demon bear had been killed two years ago. Her father still regaled anyone who would listen with the tale of how he lost his leg, then of course how the bear had been killed (although he exaggerated his own parts and left out a few important details.) The lords of the other kingdom had kept their agreement to not have their sons compete for her betrothal, and she was still happily single. Her mother and her had a fantastic relationship; they had never understood each other so well, even though she still had to endure "princess lessons". When she looked up and saw the Northern Lights, she was concerned, and slightly excited.

As fast as Angus could take her, she rode back to the kingdom. When she got back to the stables the red head quickly removed Angus' tack and ran into the castle, looking for her mother. Instead she almost tripped over her three still small but slightly taller brothers, carrying a tray of sweets.

"Boys!" She exclaimed, they looked up at her expectantly. "Where's mom, I'm not going to tell on you." They all pointed towards the kitchen. "Thanks boys!" She called as she ran that way. She raced through the halls and skidded around corners, finally making it to the kitchen where she promptly through the doors open.

"Merida!" Her mother exclaimed, surprised by her daughter's sudden and loud entry. "What the devil are ya doin'?"

"I've been summoned!" She explained excitedly, "'m needed up a' the pole."

"Now?" The queen asked, "we're jus' about ta have supper!"

"Sorry, mum, but I have ta go! I jus' wanted ta tell ya where I was off to, I'm going ta grab mah bow 'n' head through one o' those magic portals North gave meh." The princess explained. The queen looked at her daughter with a mix of pride and fear, then quickly enveloped her into a hug and kissed her temple.

"You're a brave wee lassie." She said, "Stay safe, dear, and remember I love you."

"I love you too, mum." Merida gave her mother another hug and ran up the stairs. Her mother watched after her, she really was proud of her daughter, she was a princess, but she was also a warrior. Queen Eleanor had learned she could not control her daughter's free spirit, and she was fighting for something good. Eleanor sent a quick prayer for the wisps to guide her, the girl seemed to attract them, and they had never led her wrong. Not even to the witch with the spell that turned her into a bear, because ultimately it had brought them closer. She knew she would see her fiery daughter again, and she hoped it would not be too long for this particular adventure.

* * *

Toothless sat forlornly on a cliff looking over the ocean. It had been too long since his little human had been taken; too long he'd been in the clutches of that awful man. Oh how the dragon wished he could fly, then his Viking would be safe. All the men who had taken his boy, who had hurt him, they would die in the most ferocious death that could only be given by a night fury.

Toothless sighed and looked up at the sky, as if it could give him the answer to how to fix this problem. But the dragon knew there was no way he could fix it, he could not fly. His human's father had sent scouting ships to search for his son, he had not gone with them, thinking it was better for him to stay in the village incase the evil man -Alvin, they called him- tried to attack while the men were gone. Stoic had forbidden Toothless to go with them, it was only supposed to be scouting missions, he had explained, they were not supposed to attack. They were supposed to find the location of these horrible men and come back with the information that they needed to gather the people to fight.

A stupid plan, in the night fury's opinion, it would take longer, and he wanted Hiccup back as soon as possible. But humans did things their own way, and there was nothing Toothless could do to change that. He looked up to the sky again in complete hopelessness. But then he saw those strange lights. Skylights appeared over Berk very often, but these ones were different, it was the wrong time of day for the usual skylights to occur. These were the ones that caused his rider to fly him up to the coldest part of the earth to the strange home of a strange large man. The dragon knew he had to get there, the people they met up in the cold were special; they could help him get his little human back! But how could he get up there?

Astrid!

The blonde Viking cared as much for Hiccup as Toothless himself did; she was his mate after all. It would not be fast, the girl knew the basics of flying him, but had never really done it without Hiccup close by to help and correct her. No matter, she would have to do. He quickly raced back toward the village; he was going to get his Hiccup back, no matter what.


	3. The Stubbornness of Vikings

**Alvin again is from ROB, except in this story, even after the events in the finale, he was unable to train dragons after his ruse to try and trick Hiccup, in my story Mildew failed and Alvin killed him... also his character is darker than in the show... that is all.**

* * *

**Ch. 2: The Stubbornness of Vikings**

Sandy was nodding off in the corner of North's office. It was times like these he hated being the bringer of dreams. Most of the guardians didn't need sleep, they're magic kept them going at all hours, only after their perspective holidays, for North and Bunny, did they take one day to sleep and rejuvenate. After their one night of sleep, they were back to preparing for their holidays again. Tooth almost never slept. Normally her fairies had to force her because she was too much of a workaholic to take any kind of break, and the only way she would truly take a break was if she was asleep. The Sandman was a different story.

But he ruled sleep, and more specifically dreams. If he was not busy bringing dreams to children, he would nod off and dream himself. He couldn't help it, sleep was a part of him, he could not forgo sleep like the other three. But he really wanted to stay awake for the arrival of Jack's team. He didn't have to try too much longer, though, because soon a cold wind rushed through the workshop and Jack Frost flew in. He landed softly and propped his staff on one shoulder.

"Hey!" He said with his cocky grin, "so what catastrophe have you gotten yourselves into that you need me to bale you out of?"

"Ha bloody ha," Bunnymund said sarcastically, "you're hilarious you know that?"

"I just know that you guys are completely helpless without good ol' Jack Frost." The winter spirit stated nonchalantly.

"Not on you're nilly ya ice demon!" Their banter was playful, not at all as venomous as it once was. Bunny and Jack had found that once they got over any past grudges, they actually had a good friendship, even though it consisted of a lot of teasing and ribbing. But before Jack could respond a portal opened in the middle of the room, and Rapunzel fell through, almost tripping on her own feet.

"I'll never get used to that." She giggled, and then she looked around the room. She beamed at them and was greeted warmly by the others.

"Rapunzel!" North exclaimed, "is good to see you!" He held open his arms and she accepted the hug immediately. Tooth then proceeded to nearly tackle the girl.

"Rapunzel!" She squealed, "How are you? I've missed you! Have you been flossing? Let me see! Oh lovely as always! How is Eugene? Oh it's so good to see you!" The brunette could barely keep up with how fast the tooth-fairy was talking, but she smiled up at her anyway.

"I've missed you too, Tooth, some night we should have a girls night! You, Merida and I, you can take a break from all your hard work and Merida and I could get out of our princess duties!" Toothina went to reply, but once again a portal opened and the princess of Dunbroch stepped out.

"Mornin'!" She exclaimed, "now le's skip formalities an' cut right ta the chase!" It was obvious to everyone she was eager for another adventure. It struck them all as funny as she was the last person to accept and come to terms with the offer of being a guardian.

"Hiccup still is not here," North explained, giving her a hug in the process. "We must wait for him."

"He's always the last one!" The red-head exclaimed impatiently, "if he would jus' use yer snow globes instead o' flying up 'ere, we coul' start."

"He's already so far north, Merida," Rapunzel tried to defend her friend, "I'm sure it's just easy for him to fly Toothless up here."

"She's right," Jack agreed, "it never takes him too much longer, I give him ten minutes and he'll swoop in on that dragon and we can get started."

"Fine." Merida huffed. And sat down on a large red chair, sinking into the cusions.

"How has everyone been since we last saw each other, four months ago was it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah, when old man Time's hour glass got stolen and time started to unravel." Jack recalled. Smiling at the memory of their last undertaking.

"Those trolls sure didn't know what hit 'em when we took 'em out." Merida laughed. "I still remember the look on there faces!" She crossed her eyes dumbly, scrunched her nose, and let her jaw go slack, giving a very accurate depiction of a troll's surprised face. Rapunzel chuckled at her friend.

"Although it was more trouble than it was worth, with them controlling time. If that hour glass had been in more capable hands, we would have had a lot harder time with it." Jack sighed.

"I'll never forget Hiccups face when we saw it was trolls." Rapunzel laughed.

Merida sighed, "foolish boy almos' blew our cover with 'ow excited 'e was ta learn tha' they really do exist." But then she chuckled, "I think we can believe in almos' everything now."

"Not unicorns," Bunny said quickly upon seeing a light of excitement in Rapunzel's eye. "They really don't exist." The light was gone.

They heard a roar come from outside. "That would be Toothless!" Rapunzel exclaimed happily as she ran to the window. She looked out to see her scaly friend, but the excited smile left her face almost instantly. "Something's wrong." She stated and the others went to the window with her.

"What is it, lassie?" Merida asked.

"Look at how he's flying," she explained, "it's not as smooth as usual, and... Is Hiccup's hair blonde?" They all squinted their eyes to get a better look. Something did look different, but no one could say for sure until the black dragon and his rider got closer to the workshop.

Toothless finally landed in front of them, immediately they knew Rapunzel was right when a blonde haired Viking dismounted Toothless. She considered them cooly for a moment, it was obvious she didn't know what to make of them, and they didn't know what to make of her either.

"An' who migh' you be?" Ever quick on the draw, Merida questioned the stranger. The blonde haired girl's eyes narrowed and her hand went to her axe. Knowing the bad blood between Vikings and Scotts. Even though Berk's Vikings were much more peaceful comparatively, Scott's still didn't trust them, and that alone was enough for this blonde-haired girl to be on her guard. Jack quickly placed himself between the two. He felt an immense sense of deja vu, remembering when Merida and Hiccup had first met... Although that had been more of a pry Merida off the boy before she killed him, and try to calm a very angry, protective dragon. Hiccup was actually much more willing to put it aside; it didn't look like that would be the case with this female Viking.

"Are you the guardians?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"Aye," Merida affirmed, notching an arrow in her bow and aiming it at the newcomer. "We are, now I'll ask again, who are ye? An' what do ya wont?"

The girl took her hand off her axe, draining some of the tension in the room. Her eyes grew softer, although they were still calculating and cold. "My name is Astrid, I'm a... friend of Hiccup's." Merida lowered her bow and slowly put the arrow back in the quiver. She had known she would be, she was flying Toothless after all, but Toothless with no Hiccup was disconcerting and was putting Merida very on edge. She knew that whatever this girl was going to tell them, it wasn't going to be good.

"Where is he?" Rapunzel asked her, worry prevalent in her voice.

Astrid looked at her, eyes softened and grew sad, almost a completely different person than the girl who had been standing in front of them. "He was taken by one of our enemies, Alvin the Treacherous." Rapunzel gasped, "Toothless saw the lights and came to get me, hoping you would help us get him back."

North grew pensive, "I wonder if Pitch has anything to do with this." He muttered to himself, hoping that it wasn't the case, but thinking that the timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Astrid heard him, however and turned to the large man.

"Alvin has been trying to get his hands on Hiccup for a long time, he wants Hiccup to train his dragons so he can attack Berk. If this Pitch is a recent threat, then I doubt he has anything to do with it."

"Well, he is, and then he isn't." Jack stated and the blonde Viking shot him a confused look. "He's been a threat for a while, we defeated him about five years back, but now it seems that he's back, and probably with help."

"That's why you should kill your enemies," Astrid said, "that way they can't come back." Merida nodded her head in agreement, but the rest looked around uncomfortably, unless they were something like a nightmare, or another soulless being, none of them felt comfortable taking a life. "But the getting help thought is curious. Alvin has only managed to capture Hiccup twice, once when he gave himself up to get to Toothless, and the other when he tricked him with Mildew's help." Jack gave a snort at the name but was quickly silenced by a glair from North. "Alvin is vicious and cruel, but he's not smart, Hiccup outwits him every time, he hasn't even gotten close to capturing Hiccup in almost a year. So now he comes up with this brilliant plan all on his own? I don't think so, when I think about it, the only possible explanation could be that he's getting help."

"And Pitch is cunning." Tooth affirmed, "He knows how and where to strike. He knows people's fears and feeds off of it; it makes him stronger. If he is in allegiance with this Alvin brute, it may spell trouble."

"I think I encountered Pitch in Corona." Rapunzel said quietly, knowing that she had to give this information, even though she was not completely sure she hadn't imagined it. Everyone's eyes turned to her. "I heard mo-... I heard Gothel's voice in town." She was looking down at her feet, "It's not something I ever thought I would hear again." Merida put her hand on the girl's shoulder in comfort. She knew it was still hard for Rapunzel, even though it had been two years, Gothel had still been her mother for the entirety of her childhood. Her death was not something that was easy for the now brunet to accept. And the trust and love that had been ripped away in an instant was something the girl was still recovering from, although she wouldn't admit it to anyone but Eugene.

"A new type of fearling?" Jack questioned, "His nightmares couldn't talk... And they were all horses, but could he have developed them that quickly?"

"If anyone could do it," Bunny said, "Pitch could."

"What worries me is how he got so strong so fast." Tooth voiced her concern. "Last time it took him twenty years at least to get even remotely strong enough to make a nightmare."

"Well, you said he feeds off fear, right?" Astrid questioned; the other's nodded. "Alvin may be dumb, but he's not leader for nothing. He's ruthless and cruel, kills his own men at the slightest sign of disobedience. Trust me, there's enough fear in his army alone to make a large feast for this Pitch."

Rapunzel paled, "So now he's strong enough to make fearlings of people from our past?"

"Of our fears," North corrected. "He may have created fearlings that are the embodiment of what we fear."

"Great," Jack said, "that's even worse! This is going to be tons of fun."

Merida gave him a light punch on the arm. "It's nay suppose ta be fun! We're fightin' evil and right now Hiccup's in the middle o' it, we need ta help 'im! The last thing this was ever goin' ta be was fun." Jack raised his hands in surrender.

"So are we going already?" Astrid asked walking over to Toothless who looked very restless and impatient. He obviously wanted to go and find Hiccup.

"We?" Merida questioned, "Nay, lassie, there's no 'we', you should fly home an' wait, we'll get 'im back."

"No." The Viking stated coolly but in a way that left no room for argument. "I will not wait at home for some people I barely know to rescue Hiccup! I'm going with you, and that's not a request." Her stance said she was preparing for a fight, and she would fight if need be.

"You Vikings and your stubbornness issues." Jack sighed running a hand through his hair. "Look, the thing is, we're a team, we have certain dynamics and understandings. Everyone has taken the time to understand the other members of the team, and you are not part of it, having you there could mess us up."

"But we're down one member of our team!" Rapunzel interjected, ever the diplomatic one, "maybe bringing her is a good idea."

"No, it's not." Merida argued, staring frostily at the blonde in question. " She's no Hiccup, she don' think o' act like him. I won' be puttin' my trust in a stranger! Much less a Viking."

"Hiccup's a Viking!" Rapunzel argued, "and you trust him." They new the Vikings of Berk were not a bad group, so Rapunzel couldn't understand why that was the redhead's constant argument. They needed to leave, and the more people to help, the better, take Astrid, save Hiccup, worry about social prejudice's later.

"Viking's kind of a loose term with him." Jack chuckled, trying to diffuse some of the tension. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect as Astrid whipped out her axe and held it towards the frost spirit.

"Wanna say that again?" She challenged. She was not used to Jack's style of teasing, and especially in a time when she was so worried about the small Viking, anything said about him negatively set her over the edge. Especially considering he had been fighting to _be_ considered a true Viking by his village for the better portion of his life, Jack's sentence did not sit well with her. "If that's how you talk about him, I definitely don't want to trust you to bring him back to me alive and intact."

"Too late for that last one." Jack couldn't help it, sometimes jokes poured out of him, especially when he was unsure how to diffuse tension or handle a stressful situation. Astrid was about to throw her axe, so he hurriedly explained himself. "I'm sorry!" He cried' "I meant him not being Viking-like as a complement, like he uses his brain instead of being all jump-in-and-kill-it!" Her eyes softened at his explanation, understanding he had not been insulting the boy she loved more than herself. She lowered her axe but didn't put it away.

"This is why we can't take ya." Merida told her, "you're too hot-headed an' impulsive. We already ha' one o' those... Me, a second one would spell disaster!"

"I'm a trained warrior!" Astrid countered, "looking at you're group, you're going to need me."

"We can fight just fine, thank you." Rapunzel cut in, she disliked being seen as weak by anyone. She may be kind and gentle and, for lack of a better word, girly, but that did not make her soft and weak. Her opinion of Astrid was fluttering in and out of tolerable to downright unpleasant. She tried to rationalize that the girl in front of her was stressed and worried, possibly utterly terrified at the idea of the danger Hiccup was in. But no matter, she knew that in some ways, this girl was very dangerous in this state. "Merida has a point! You're hot headed, and also cocky, you could get us killed!"

"I am going with you guys and that's final!" She screamed, frustrated.

Toothless let out a long huge roar, causing everyone in the room to cover their ears. He held it out for as long as he could, and when he stopped, he kept snarling at them, he was tired of their bickering, he had come up here to get help, not watch as they argued over whether or not they should bring Hiccup's mate. They stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Toothless is right." Rapunzel said, "this isn't doing any of us any good, we need to go and rescue Hiccup."

"An' how do you know tha's what 'e said?" Merida argued still in an argumentative mood. She knew that Rapunzel didn't actually understand all of what Toothless said, she spoke chameleon, not dragonese. Two very different languages. But she also knew that Rapunzel always had the best grasp of what the dragon was trying, besides Hiccup of course.

"No!" Jack said harshly, "We are not going to start fighting again, Rapunzel is right. Toothless will want to come as well, and technically he's part of the team. None of us can fly him, so Astrid will have to come as well." Merida huffed but did not argue. "Do you know where he is?" Jack questioned the female Viking.

Still bristling with anger, she crossed her arms and scowled at the ground. "No, and that's most of the problem, our village would have launched a full scale attack to get him back if only we knew where he was. Another thing that makes me believe that Alvin has to be getting help, he's always just gone straight back to Outcast Island, as I said – not the smartest person, but we searched the entire island. No Alvin, no Hiccup... Nothing."

"I can help with that!" North exclaimed, "My globe! We can find him with that."

"There are thousands of lights on that thing!" Jack exclaimed, "How will we know which one's him?"

North gave him a knowing look. "Not the one of children."

Jack blanched, "you have more than one?"

"Yes!" The man exclaimed, "I have one for the guardians and magical beings as well."

"Well don't just stand there!" Bunny exclaimed, "Where is it?"

"Follow me!" North cried and they ran out of the office and down a windy staircase until they reached the workshop floor, then the bringer of cheer took them to the left through a hall where yeti's were working tirelessly on toys. If she hadn't been so eager to find Hiccup, Astrid may have stopped to marvel at all the wondrous things in the workshop, because it certainly wasn't anything you saw everyday. But as it was, she followed quickly behind Rapunzel as they all ran, single-file, through a maze of hallways, each different from the next.

Finally they reached a door on the far side of a hall and North opened it. Inside was a globe, not nearly as big as the one they had passed in the center of the workshop. Also, it didn't have nearly as many lights on it, and they were all different colors. North showed them the cluster at the top, saying that was them.

"There are a few other lights on the globe," North explained. "This globe is all the magical beings in the world, not just guardians. But it also has our human guardians, so look for a brown light, that is Hiccup."

"Bit of a boring color, isn't it?" Jack observed.

"All other colors were taken." North shrugged. They looked around the globe, each looking for the little brown light that would signify their friend.

"There he is!" Tooth exclaimed after a bit of fluttering around the globe, "I found him!" They all came around and looked.

"That's the Isle of Fangs!" Astrid exclaimed. "It's sharp, fang-like rocks make it uninhabitable, and it's almost impossible to navigate with a boat without sinking. We never thought to look there because our ships would have been shredded trying to reach the island. We assumed Alvin would be unable to navigate the rocky outcropping as well." She cursed her own stupidity at not checking every island.

"Interesting, you can use a snow globe to get there, is fastest way." North thought.

"No," Merida countered, "not directly on the Island, we don' know where anythin' or anyone is, it could be dangerous. We should land 'ere," she pointed to a small island about thirty miles away, "then we can plan from there."

"I agree," Jack said, "that's the smartest and safest thing to do. Anyone know what that island is called?"

"Cannibal Island, named for Bethesda the Beastly, who went crazy there and ate her people." Astrid explained, everyone shot her an odd look, but she simply shrugged. It was an old story that didn't faze her so much anymore, sometimes she forgot talk of cannibals and the sort were strange and uncomfortable to others.

"North?" Tooth questioned the big man, "you said this map shows all the magical beings. What about Pitch?"

"He escapes it, he is too shadowed to show up as a light, I have tried to get him on the globe, but I have not succeeded."

"Figures," Jack mumbled, they couldn't get that lucky. "Alright, so let's get this globe so we can rescue our gimpy friend and stop the awful people!" Merida and Rapunzel smirked, but Astrid looked almost bored, Rapunzel guessed she was trying to keep herself from looking anxious. Toothless let out a roar of agreement, eager to get to his human. Jack threw the globe and they all jumped through the portal.

* * *

Pitch wandered the caves of the dark, dank island he had found. There really was no better place for him to hide out until he was ready to make his move. Alvin had told him the people of Berk would not come near the island, it was very dangerous for ships, and no one would think Alvin would possibly bring his outcasts here. But Pitch knew ancient secret magic, something he had recently acquired with the help of one of his new allies, and that had helped Alvin's ships get through. He felt better, this time he was not fighting alone, he had found people who could see him. They did not necessarily have to fear him to see him; they just had to have a heart just as cold and dark, and a strong thirst for revenge.

But the belief of his new allies was not enough to bring him back to his former glory. He still needed fear, luckily Alvin struck up enough fear in his men to make quite the feast, then there was the boy in the dungeon. His fear was delicious, so strong, and there was so much of it. The icing on the cake would be when they were ready to go to war. Alvin had only wanted to conquer Berk, he was so shortsighted, but Pitch had convinced him not to stop there. He had an army of bloodthirsty savages, and Pitch's fearlings, he would also finally have dragons once the boy broke, and the boy would break of that Pitch was certain. Then, the people of Berk would be enslaved to Alvin, they would have to join his army, making it bigger and more ferocious still. Then he could take over surrounding islands, move to the mainland, to Europe, Asia, Africa, Everywhere! The army they amass could be big enough to take over the world! A world where Pitch would reign, and everyone would fear him.

The Nightmare King wandered deeper into the caves, lost in his own plans, practically salivating at the desired end result, but also trying not to get over confident, that was his downfall last time. He slowed to a stop when he realized where he was, he was at the cell of that boy Alvin had captured. He knew the man wanted him to break before they attacked Berk, he wanted dragons. 'Well' Pitch thought, 'there's no reason I can't help him along.' Quietly, he slipped into the cell and observed the boy. He was young indeed, but not so young as those miserable brats who had helped defeat him five years ago. He was very small as well, Pitch wasn't sure if he was naturally like that or if it was a byproduct of Alvin starving him. He looked like someone who should have died under Alvin's torture by at least the second day, but either he was very good at withstanding it, or Alvin knew just how to drag it out. Either way it didn't matter, Pitch leaned over him and put his face close to the boy' ear.

"You should give up," he whispered in a voice only he could manage, "it's pointless, you are going to die if you don't give them what they want."

A slightly heavier raspy breath was the only response the semi-conscious boy gave. Not having the strength to do much else. Pitch felt his fear at his words, and decided to delve deeper. "If you don't give in, Alvin will find another way to train his dragons, you are not the only one who knows how. He will kill you, and he will kill everyone on that island." The boy shuddered again. "What do you owe these people?" Pitch continued, "what have they ever done for you. For years you were unaccepted, ostracized, and abused by the very people you are trying to save. Then you save them when they most need it. You have given so much, lost so much, and what have you gotten in return? A small scrap of respect that they give you in order to use you for your knowledge?" He smirked as he could feel despair radiating from the boy. "That's all they want, your knowledge, not you. If they could get that with another Viking they would, they would happily shun you aside again to let another Viking, a _real_ Viking take your place. They don't love you? Why do you think you've been here for so long? They aren't looking for you; they know you will not give in, because they know how much you still want to please them. They are happy enough to let you die, confident enough in their own ability with the dragons, you have now become worthless and disposable."

The small frame shuddered with noiseless sobs, he was too exhausted to refute anything, and after two weeks of grueling torture, he was starting to loose himself to fear and despair. Pitch's verbalization of his fear only made things worse. 'Unloved, alone, worthless' ran like a mantra unchecked through his head and he could not stop it. The skeletal boy curled in on himself as much as the pain would allow, his mouth open in a soundless scream, his vocal chords having given out days ago.

Pitch watched him break, his satisfied grin painting his face like an ugly mask. He left the cell and went to find Alvin; it was only a matter of time now before he gave in completely. He wandered the dark corridors for a while, excited at the thought of finally putting his plan into motion, of finally getting revenge.

"So, how's everything going?" The Nightmare King was not startled by the voice behind him; indeed he had known she was there for a while.

"According to plan," the Boogieman purred. "It will not be long before we can start this war. What news do you bring?" The shadowy figure stepped towards him, a hood over her head.

"The man in the moon has warned them." The shadow said, "and Jack's team was called to the North Pole."

"Excellent!" Pitch exclaimed, "this is all going according to plan."

"I think I would have liked this war to have started before the guardians were aware of our plans."

"There is not much we can do that the man in the moon cannot see." Pitch explained, "Don't worry, Gothel, this time, we will win."

* * *

**I apologize if Astrid seemed OOC I was trying to capture her stressed and scared, I don't know if I ****succeeded. And even though I kind of portrayed her as a bit of a bitch, I adore her and love her, so don't think that I was trying to bash her character. again, stressed and scared.**


	4. Preparations on Cannibal Island

**A/N: Yeah, shorter chapter, I think the shortest chapter in the story besides the prologue, but the rest of my chapters I have planned are pretty long so get excited! This chapter is mostly set up but necessary so, enjoy!**

**Ch. 3: Preparations on Cannibal Island**

Jack and his team leapt through the portal, and immediately found themselves on a strange island. The air was still and stale, the island felt alive and tense, as if it wanted to eat its newcomers. Senses immediately on alert, the group raised their weapons and circled themselves, checking for any hostile activity. There was none, but the lack of any activity was just as intimidating.

"O-kay," Jack said slowly, "let's do what we came to and get out of here."

Merida nodded, "I agree with ya, Jack, I don' like the feel of this island." Rapunzel nodded as well, still holding her frying pan protectively in front of her.

"Legend says it was the island itself that caused Bethesda to spiral into

cannibalism." Astrid said flatly. "That there is an air to the island that makes everyone go mad eventually." She ran her eyes along the scope of the island, and after deciding there was no immediate threat, put her axe away and walked a bit further into the island.

"Why would you say that?" Jack exclaimed, following her, although not quite willing to take his staff from it's defensive position. The blonde Viking merely shrugged, examining a tree trunk.

Rapunzel had pulled out her frying pan from her bag and held it out in front of her. She took a few steps backwards and heard a strange crunch. She looked down at the remains of a sun-bleached femur. She squeaked and quickly stepped off it, seeing the rest of the skeleton strewn around the area. Jack and Merida cringed.

"Well, we should probably find the Isle of Fangs," Astrid said, unfazed, running her hand up the side of the trunk she seemed enthralled with. "The island is west of us, so I think that's is a good way to travel first, find the west-most shore."

Jack shot her an incredulous look. "Do you not see the bones?!"

"Do you not remember why we're here?!" She shot back, imitating his tone in a mocking manner. He looked down at her belt, suddenly realizing bones must not bother her. "This way is due west," she pointed to the right of where they were.

"How are you so sure?" Rapunzel asked shakily, still nervous and uneasy after seeing the bones.

"The moss on most of the trunks is facing us, which means that way is due North." She waved her hand vaguely in the direction she was talking about. "Anyone with the most basic wilderness survival training should know that, yet another reason as to why I couldn't trust you all to bring him back."

"Look 'ere, lass!" Merida exclaimed, red faced. She was fed up with the Viking's attitude toward them, "We are no' some incompetent buffoons tha' couldn't ha' done this without ye! We're jus' tryin' ta git our bearings on this strange island, an' I'll no' ha' ye belittlin' us because we aren't used to this sort o' thing. We ha' been more places then yer wee head coul' imagine, we know wha' we're doin'."

"Oh really?" Astrid shot back, "because it doesn't seem to me that you do, you are unorganized, skittish, and too laid back. Have any of you ever seen battle, have any of you ever felt this fear of having someone you care about possibly ripped away from you forever! You stand there flippantly with no priority on your mind. Everything is a great big adventure to you!"

"Ack! We ha' all felt the pain o' loosing someone, lass, or known the scare o' it! Do no' think ye are the only one who knows this feeling, we jes' deal wit' it differently." Merida stared at the Viking girl cooly, how dare she suggest that they had no priorities! No urgency in what they did!

"No!" Astrid countered, "You flit around with your air-headed, cocky, fun-loving attitudes and ignore the fact that Hiccup is priority. Two weeks, he's been gone. Two weeks he's been at the mercy of a man who is crueler than you can imagine! And you idle around, being scared of an island, and bones that have as much power to kill someone as a pebble in a creak. If you truly were worried for him, and focused on helping me get him back you would not be so concerned with trivial matters!"

"Look," Jack thought he should step in before Merida lost her head, "You're right, we aren't treating this how you are, but that's because our personalities are different. We are all very worried about Hiccup, but while you are a trained warrior, who takes these thing in a very regimented and professional way, we are not. I cannot act like you or I will lose my head, I focus on the moment because if I don't it overwhelms me. And we have never been to this place, we have no idea what to expect."

Rapunzel stepped up and smiled lightly at Jack and looked at Astrid. "We are all very focused on getting Hiccup back, he is our friend and none of us want him to remain where he is. But as Jack said, we all handle it differently, if I imagine how hurt and scared he is, and focus on my fear of losing him, I will not be able to make rational thoughts that could save him."

"We are goin' ta save him." Merida assured, her tone still harsh, but not as hard as it had been. "An' we are going to make the devil's pay. Do no' misplace our attitude's as apathy."

Astrid huffed and crossed her arms, still angry, but looking slightly chastised. She knew that her attitude was not exactly helping the situation. She also knew that by yelling and screaming about the group's shortcomings, she was not helping the situation in the slightest. In fact, she was hindering it by making arguments were there was no place for them, holding them up when they needed to be focused on the mission. She may not have to like these people, but they were working toward the same goal, so she needed to at least work with them and not make things difficult.

"I'm sorry," she said after a beat. "I am worried about him, and the stress of the past few weeks has gotten to me, I know that is no excuse, but I am sorry."

Rapunzel walked over to the younger girl and, smiling softly, placed a hand on her shoulders, "We should go." It was as good as an acceptance, better even. Astrid gave a tentative smile and nodded.

"North should have dropped us off by the shore closest to the isle of fangs." Jack said. "When we find it, I am going to scout it out by day, see what I can find. Four hours at most, I don't want to risk any more than that. When I return, Astrid will go on a night scout with Toothless. I want to know the layout of the place, but more specifically, I want to know what time of day has more security, night or day." The other's nodded in agreement to this plan.

"It was west of the island," Rapunzel said, looking at Astrid for assurance, the Viking nodded.

Merida looked to the sky, "that way!" She pointed to where the sun was starting it's decent from the sky. They began to journey the direction she had pointed, avoiding bones they would find strewn across the ground. Sure enough, there were rewarded with the sight of the coast within the half-hour, and not far beyond it, they could make out the Isle of Fangs. Jack had to admit, it did look extremely menacing, and like exactly the type of place Pitch would choose.

"Alright," the winter spirit assumed an air of authority. "I am going to go for the initial scout, you three-" Toothless snorted, "four, sorry, are going to set up camp here, basic shelter, see if you can find any fresh water and any game to hunt. I'll be back within the next two hours, alright." They nodded and he flew of towards the far island, hoping to find a trace of their friend.

"Toothless and I volunteer to build the shelter." Rapunzel said after a beat. The black dragon looked at her with big eyes and the toothless smile for which he was named. She scratched his head affectionately. Astrid and Merida looked at each other.

"I'll find the water," Astrid said, "you're probably better at hunting with that bow, clean shot and all that. Using my axe would be too messy." She gave the Scott an unsure smile, which Merida quickly returned with her own beaming one. The Scott was quick to receive praise, and the tension that was still between the two lessened immensely, now that they had decided to work together for the good of the team.

Rapunzel sighed in relief, "finally, I was beginning to think that would never happen." The girls laughed and Toothless let out his own chuckle as well.

"Alright, le's head out." Merida said to Astrid. "But we shoul' stay close ta this area incase somethin' happens. This island's still a mystery, an' it still gives me the creeps." The Viking nodded, and with a quick look back at Rapunzel and Toothless, who had started preparing a place for the shelter, they headed off into the brush.

Jack flew low to the water as he approached the Isle of Fangs. With his growing number of believers, Jack had stopped assuming no one could see him. Most of the time he was ecstatic at the idea, but right now he wished that there was no way these men could see him. While most of the time adults couldn't see him, few had the wide-eyed wonder and innocence of childhoo, he had to assume these men could. If they were working with Pitch, they could have been warned about him.

He landed on the island and looked around, it seemed empty enough, but he couldn't be sure. He approached each corner and crevice carefully, aware that there could be a guard stationed anywhere. But the more he journeyed into the island, the more discouraged he became, for he had not encountered a single soul. He began to be worried that somehow, they had possibly come to the wrong place, perhaps the globe had led them wrong.

"Dammit!" He muttered kicking a rock.

"Well your mother was a troll!" He heard a gruff voice shout from somewhere nearby.

"You wanna say that again?" Another voice shouted. Cautiously, Jack made his way over to where the voices were coming from. He leapt up onto a rock and peered over it, seeing two burly, Viking men arguing about something. They were soon joined by a third, even bigger man, Jack blanched, the guy was as big as North, and he was one of the biggest men Jack had ever seen. He really hoped all the men weren't that size; he shuddered just thinking about his small friend surrounded by men five times his size.

"What are you doing?" The large man asked the two bickering Vikings. "You are supposed to be standing guard without giving away our location, but all your racket is sending up a flare seven miles high saying here we are! Come get us!" He then clouted them both upside the head.

"Oh, come on!" One of them whined, and Jack almost snickered, because men that tough looking couldn't whine without it being hilarious. "No one will think to look for us here, everyone knows that without that dark man's magic, we never would have come here because the ships can't get through. And it's boring."

"Stoic will never find us until we're riding to his island on our dragons," the other man chimed in agreeing with his friend, but trying to curb the larger man's wrath. "Once his little brat finally teaches us how to train the beasts. We can go to war with those soft Berkians. But until then... This job is boring."

The largest man rolled his eyes, "well, I'm sorry that you are so bored." Even Jack could tell by the man's tone that the other two were on dangerous ground. "But let me reassure you, you won't be bored for long if you don't shut your traps and do your job." He put his hand on his sword for emphasis, "in fact, you won't be much of anything!" The other two straightened to attention and nodded furiously. The large man sighed and turned walking away. Jack quietly followed him, hoping he would show him the way to his friend.

He followed him into a cave opening, which would have been almost impossible to find otherwise by where it was positioned. He followed him quietly down a long hall, until he heard a snippet of a conversation that caused him to stop.

"Take this to the boy's cell." Jack turned down an adjacent cave where he heard the voice come from. He saw another man, as large as the first two guards hand a tray to a slightly shorter Viking.

"But I thought we wasn't feedin' 'im?" The shorter man asked confused.

"Alvin still needs 'im alive, and we don't want 'im to starve to death afore's we gets what we need." The other said gruffly. "So do as I says." He shoved the tray at the man and gave him a slight shove on his shoulders. "Off with ya now."

The second man huffed and started down a winding tunnel. Jack followed, leaving very slight ice markings on the walls so he could remember the way. He smirked, this was going more smoothly than he thought. Maybe he could get the boy out tonight, complete the mission before it really began. They finally stopped at a small opening that had bars making it into a dungeon. Chains had been attached to the walls and Jack could see blood stains on the floor, but no sign of his friend.

"Little whelp ain't even here." The viking said irritably, "giving food ta an empty cell, the rat's 'll eat this afore that boy even gets back." He shoved the tray in harshly, causing the food to spill slightly onto the surrounding floor and the cup to slosh out most of it's contents.

He turned around so quickly Jack didn't have time to hide, he stood wide eyed as the man walked towards him angrily, and then sighed in relief as he walked right through him. Jack chuckled to himself, never thought he'd feel relieved at that feeling. Pitch must not have told them about him, or maybe only Alvin and his higher-ups knew about Pitch, Jack couldn't be sure, but he was glad for it nonetheless.

He was tempted to wait until they brought Hiccup back, but knew he only had so much time before he had to return to the others and he didn't know how long his friend would be gone. He decided to do what he came to do and scout out paths and the best way to save Hiccup. He filled Hiccup's cup with ice, knowing it would melt and be cool water by the time he got back. Upset that that was the only thing he could do for his friend at the moment, he flew off to try and learn all he could in the short amount of time he had left.


	5. Breaking Walls

**Here you are, chapter four. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, favorite-ed, followed this story so far, it means a lot.**

* * *

**Ch. 4: Breaking Walls**

Merida took a deep breath, then slowly let it out as she released the arrow. She smiled smugly as she watched her target fall; that made one pheasant, two squirrels, and three fish. That plus the berries she had found should do for a decent meal. There was not much to be found as far as game went, however, and if it weren't for her trained hunting eye, there meal would probably be only the berries.

The redhead let out a whistle and waited a beat until she heard another one in return. Once she heard it, she headed towards it, pheasant in hand. She an Astrid had decided that the Viking would mark the path and stay close to Merida, letting the Scott hunt without worry of getting lost. She came upon a clearing where Astrid was filling several leather pouches full of water from a stream.

"You think that will be enough?" The younger girl asked. "I had brought four pouches, it never hurts to be prepared. Then Rapunzel gave me the two she brought."

Merida looked at the pouches, each large enough to last a person a while day if they weren't doing anything too strenuous. "Aye, lass," she said, "I think tha' shoul' be fine fer now. We can restock in the mornin' if need be." Astrid nodded and capped the last pouch before putting them in her bag. "Let's go see 'ow Rapunzel 'n' toothless are doin' on tha' shelter." The Viking smiled and nodded and they walked off, following the path the blonde had left. When they got to the beach, they found a nice sized shelter made of sticks and leaves and a few stones to keep the base. Sitting in front of it by a warm fire were the girl and dragon, Rapunzel resting on Toothless, obviously exhausted.

"We brough' the food." Merida said in a way of greeting. "By the time I'm done preparing it, Jack'll be back and we can eat."

Rapunzel offered a smile and a nod as her only response. "Here," Astrid handed the girl a water pouch, which she accepted gratefully. "You guys did a great job on the shelter."

"Toothless did most of the heavy work." The dragon snorted and nuzzled his face into the brunette's arm as if to say, "you did just as much." Astrid was almost surprised by how comfortable the two seemed together, it was nothing like with Hiccup and the dragon, but Toothless seemed to like this girl quite a lot.

Thinking of Hiccup caused the feelings of anxiety and sadness hit her again full force. For a few short hours, she had had something to keep her occupied; now she had nothing except for an empty feeling and worry knotting her stomach.

"He'll he alright," Rapunzel said as if reading her mind. "He's strong, of course you know this, you watched him face the Green Death, we just heard about it second hand. But I've seen him be strong in different ways over the last two years, and I can say without a doubt, Hiccup will be okay."

Astrid sat down next to the girl and sighed. "I know he's strong but he's not invincible, and we don't know what these people have done to him. What if he's..." She looked away from the fire and out over the water.

"Broken?" Rapunzel supplied the word for the Viking, and the blonde looked down at her feet giving a small nod. "Then we'll put him back together." The brunet smiled, but Astrid still looked doubtful.

"What if Alvin and his Outcasts are on dragons when we get there," Astrid stared into the fire, "It's a very real possibility, and if they are, we'll have a much harder time finding him. Also, if Hiccup gave into Alvin, he won't be able to forgive himself, I know him, He'll tie himself in knots trying to fix it, and in the end, the guilt will drive him mad." She sighed and looked out toward the Isle of Fangs, "He won't be the same when we get him back, whether he gave in or not, and I'm scared that he will never be the same."

"You don't give him enough credit," Rapunzel's voice was strong and she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, "I think he's stronger than anyone gives him credit for." Water began to pool in Astrid's eyes, but she quickly blinked it away, "You know where he says he gets a lot of his strength?"

"Toothless," Astrid gave a weak chuckle, the dragon was everything to Hiccup, but Rapunzel shook her head.

"You," she corrected and the blonde looked up, shocked. "He says you inspire him, that you've encouraged him when he felt like giving up, that without you, he would not be the person he is today." Her eyes began to burn again, and Astrid wiped her eyes, trying desperately not to let herself cry.

"That idiot," she muttered, "he's such an idiot!"

Rapunzel chose to ignore that comment, she knew Astrid was trying, and failing, to cover how much that comment had affected her. Vikings, she remembered, considered most emotions a weakness.

"Let me 'round tha' fire." Merida's voice called out from the darkness, breaking the air that had been growing around the two girls. "These are ready ta be cooked. Rapunzel, mind if I use your fryin' pan?"

"Not at all!" The brunette conceded, handing her weapon over to Merida. It was times like these the red head was glad her friend used a cooking utensil as a weapon. She looked over at Astrid, noticing her eyes were a bit red and swollen but she chose not to comment. She new first hand Rapunzel has this way of breaking through walls, and it looked like she had cracked Astrid's.

She watched the squirrel sizzle on the frying pan as she cooked it, she had handed Astrid the fish on a spit for her to cook and gave another to Rapunzel before throwing the remaining raw one to Toothless who caught it happily. As she cooked she thought back to her own first few encounters with Rapunzel. She had thought the girl was weak at first, they had each told their own stories and she remembered thinking that, while the story was truly incredible, the brunette herself would be nothing without her husband or some of the other friends who had helped her.

Merida had grown quite a bit, but at that time she still was overly independent and thought relying on other people too much showed weakness. But then she remembered their first mission together, it was small and something Merida thought she would have no problem with. She had not relied on anyone else, had not listened to the plan Jack had set up, and had done things her way. It had ended very badly for her, and had Rapunzel not been there to heal her, she would have surely died. It was not the brunette's actions, however, but her words that had really gotten to the redhead.

_"It's lonely to do everything by yourself," Rapunzel started and Merida wanted to scoff. "You think you need to carry everything on your shoulders, to never ask for help. You think if you do, it will negate everything you have been fighting for, you think if you ask for help you will be proving that you are not ready for the freedom you have been fighting so hard for." Merida stayed silent because the young healer was voicing her own thoughts and fears with almost scary accuracy. "You don't want people to look at you and say, 'we always knew that you didn't deserve the freedom we gave you.' But let me be clear, trying to do everything yourself is what shows you cannot handle the freedom. Remember that with personal freedom comes the freedom to also rely on others, and only when you are able to recognize your weaknesses and learn how to depend on others, only then will you have the true strength that comes with the freedom you want."_

A part of Merida' wall had broken that night, and it wasn't long after that that the girl had broken down the rest of it, slowly but surely. It really was a gift, what Rapunzel was able to do. A gift from the sun combined with the knowledge and help from the moon had given the princess of Corona not only the ability to heal peoples bodies, but their hearts and minds as well. She truly was special, and even though she wasn't the best fighter in the group, she was still just as valuable.

Merida smiled as she thought of their little rag-tag team; at first glance, it really shouldn't work, but the man in the moon had known what he was doing when he put them all together. Jack was their leader; he was the immortal one, after all, and the one that had been a guardian the longest. Although most of the time he didn't act like a leader, he kept things light with his humor and fun-loving nature, but he could also be very calm and collected, and he definitely took charge when he needed to. He had grown very protective of his team, and Merida had no doubt he would gladly give his life for theirs.

She was the rash impulsive one, and the one who gave everyone courage. Even when she was afraid, she didn't show it and would move right into the thick of things. Her bravado gave the other's the strength to do the same. Jack always joked, "send Merida in first, if she doesn't come back, we'll know it's not safe." She laughed along, knowing it was a complement in disguise. Every one of them would have been dead without her rash-impulsive actions in battle.

Hiccup was their thinker. He was quick on his feet and was able to see things others couldn't. Jack often went to him for strategy because Hiccup had observed each of them, and he knew how to play to people's strength. He was able to do this even in the heat of battle, making last second decisions that had saved her rear more times than she could count. Of course, Toothless had a lot to do with that as well, but she was still grateful to her one-legged friend all the same.

And Rapunzel was their sunshine, and not just because her healing ability came from the sun's flower. Even when things got so hopeless that even Jack was unable to lift their spirits, Rapunzel was always able to see the bright side. She gave them motivation, and hope in even the most hopeless of times. She was also a fierce protector of her friends, and was also someone worth protecting. She was well-loved and had a genuine spirit that was almost impossible to find anymore, she was really the glue that kept them together.

"Sweet, dinner, where's mine?" Jack's voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"Here." Merida handed him a stick with a well-cooked squirrel on it.

Jack made a face, "my favorite."

"Ya can starve if ya really wan'." The archer challenged.

"No no, thanks Merida." He quickly took a bite. She went back to her own meal, but Jack could still feel eyes boring holes into him. He looked over to see Astrid and Rapunzel looking at him expectantly. "I didn't see him." They deflated visibly, Merida put down her dinner as well and frowned at the fire. "But I did find where they're keeping him, and I figured out that security's very lax during the day because the entrance to their lair is extremely hard to find."

"Well that's a start." Rapunzel said.

"Are the Outcasts… are they on Dragons?" Astrid asked hesitantly.

"No," Jack said and they all relaxed.

"I'm going to take Toothless and night scout the island, we need to figure out when the best time to get him for the cleanest getaway." Astrid said and Jack nodded.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, but be careful! Toothless may be able to disappear in the dark, but you can't, especially with you're hair. And they're looking for Berk scouts, so they'll be expecting dragons."

She smirked and pulled out a black bag with two holes cut out. The blonde pulled it over her head, effectively covering everything but her eyes. Jack held back a snicker, it was a good idea, but she looked a bit ridiculous.

"I look ridiculous, I know." Astrid said, reading his mind. "Hiccup is working on a way to blend into the night with Toothless. Most of his stuff looks... Well, you see my head, but it's a good idea, and I think he'll get it. Until then, I'll use his ridiculous looking, soft-helmet to help myself blend into the night."

"It is a good idea," Merida agreed. "Better ta look ridiculous an' be safe then ta not take e'ry precaution an' get caught." Astrid nodded and mounted Toothless.

"Don't wait up." She smirked before the dragon took off into the night sky, invisible to anyone who didn't know where to look.

"I hope she stays safe, and doesn't take any unnecessary risks." Rapunzel spoke, "If we're going to pull this off, she needs to stick to the plan."

"She will." Merida affirmed, "she's rash, like me, bu' she won' do anythin' to jeopardize tha' boy's safety. I may no' be the biggest expert in it, bu' I know love when I see it."

Jack nodded, "She'll be okay, and bring us back the information we need. And even if we couldn't trust her, we can trust Toothless, that dragon would do anything for Hiccup."

Rapunzel smiled, "He certainly would, animals are the most loyal friends, like Pascal to me, I know he would do everything in his power for me. And Angus adores you, Merida, likewise, Toothless has already proven he would die for Hiccup. Sometimes I wonder what animals have that we don't. How can they love so unconditionally, and humans can't seem to, even though we claim to be the more advanced species."

Jack chuckled at the observations of the princess. He had to admit, she had a point, although he knew a few exceptions if Bunny was classified as an animal. He looked back into the sky where the dragon had flown off with the female Viking. Three hours, that was as longs as they had agreed she should be gone. Then they could figure out the best course of action. The winter spirit frowned, he was anxious to get his friend out of those caves, but he knew they couldn't rush, incase they did more harm than good. But still, he wished he could barge in and freeze them all; he looked up at the moon as if the man could give him the answer, but like every time before, he was silent.

* * *

Alvin through Hiccup into his cell with such force, the small body bounced once before skidding to a halt on the opposite side. The larger man was fuming, Pitch had told him about his success in breaking the boy, or the success he'd thought he had. But the stupid boy still had some fight in him it would seem. The leader of the Outcasts had never thought someone could hold out for this long under his cruelty, especially not someone so small and weak as this boy! He knew stronger men who had given in much sooner. Still, Alvin knew the boy was very near his breaking point, a few days at most and he would have him.

Furious, He grabbed the boy's face with his meaty hands and forced the smaller one to look at him. "Tell me how to train dragons!" He snarled, but Hiccup's barely focused eyes held as much defiance as they could still muster, and his mouth refused to move. Frustrated beyond compare with the lack of the captured Viking's cooperation, Alvin put his fingers underneath the boy's protruding ribs, grabbed and pulled forcefully, hearing a sickening crack. "TELL ME!" He screeched as Hiccup screamed in agony, almost loosing consciousness from the excruciating pain.

Alvin was sick of the waiting game, he had waited two weeks and all composer, all of his cool calculating plans to get the boy to talk had flown out the window. There seemed to be no way to get this boy to talk, and Alvin had had enough. Angrily, he grabbed the small viking by what remained of the scruff of his shirt and dragged him like a rag-doll to the middle of the cell where there were chains hooked to the ceiling. The barely-conscious boy did not fight as Alvin chained his hands behind his back, first at the wrists, then at the elbows. The Outcast smirked cruelly as he lifted the boy to attach the chain to hooks at the boys wrists, then let him drop. The chain jerked his arms up and held him in the air, leaving the boy in agony. His broken ribs jarring him painfully.

Hiccup gasped and weakly tried to adjust, anything to try and ease some of the pressure. But his foot hung just above the ground, unable to support any of his weight, and his stump hung just as uselessly, unable to do anything anyway. The young Viking gritted his teeth and refused to look at his tormentor, but the cruel Viking grabbed the boy's chin in a vice-like grip and forced Hiccup again to look at him.

"Look at ye, 'iccup," Alvin taunted, "you're pathetic, a weakling tryin' to be a 'ero where there's no place for 'em. You're just causing yourself more pain, an' it can all end, if ye tell me 'ow to train dragons." Hiccup's cold, pain-filled eyes glared back, a silent but definitive no. "Until you teach me 'ow to train those beasts, you're gonna be stuck like this!" The Viking leader exclaimed and he saw Hiccup's eyes fill with panic, not wanting to be left in such a painful position, but not willing to give in either. The Outcast leader snapped his fingers, and four nightmares materialized out of the dark. "You know what to do." He told them. They whinnied hauntingly before surrounding the small boy, trapping him in the horror of his own mind.

Alvin then turned away knowing his victory was almost there, because there was only so much pain a person could take before they would do anything to make it stop, and the worthless boy was about to meet his limit.

Toothless landed smoothly on the shore, letting his passenger off before sauntering over to the fire. The boy with white hair who could fly without wings came out of the shelter he and the healer had made. He woke up the other two females and they also exited the shelter to gather around him and his Viking's mate.

"What did you learn?" Jack asked her. Toothless moaned and lay down by the fire, why couldn't the humans figure this out sooner? He was growing very impatient, he had been close enough to Hiccup he could smell him, it was driving the black dragon crazy. His scent had been riddled with blood and sweat, pain, fear, and possibly the worst, despair. He knew Hiccup had a very small window of time left before he either gave in, or died, and Toothless wanted to get him before either of those things happened.

"We'll have to go by day," Astrid was explaining to the other's, "they are obviously expecting us at night. The whole island was crawling with outcasts, I couldn't get even get close enough to land on any part of the island without the probability of being caught. But we're out of time!"

Merida looked at the Viking. "How do ya mean?"

"There's a fleet of ships about two days out from the island," Astrid explained. "And when I got closer I saw they were Berserkers, a tribe run by Dagur the Deranged. He's technically in a signed treaty with Berk, but it doesn't look like he's interested in honoring it. If we don't get Hiccup out tomorrow, that place will be so packed full of blood-thirsty Vikings, there's no way we'll be able to save him!"

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Toothless cooed as if in response and walked closer to the group, obviously wanting to hear Jack's decision. "Tomorrow it is, then, I would have liked another day or two." Astrid shot him a look and he quickly explained. "I want to get him out as soon as possible, but I also want to keep everyone as safe as possible. I'm not familiar enough with that island or the people to make a great plan, if we go tomorrow we'll be relying mostly on luck." He sighed as he knew what the other's must be thinking, he was a decent planner, but he tended to second guess himself, he remembered the days he just did without thinking. Sure it had gotten him into trouble sometimes, but sometimes it had been a good thing, now with other people to protect, he tried to be as prepared as possible.

"We can do it!" Rapunzel exclaimed bringing Jack out of his self-doubt. "It wouldn't be the first time we've had to rely on luck." Merida nodded and Toothless sent him a knowing smile.

Jack smiled back and assumed his leadership role once more. "Alright, you three ladies get some rest, I'm going to work on a strategy for tomorrow, and Toothless, if you could take watch. We'll get up tomorrow shortly after dawn to eat and head out. Tomorrow, we're getting our friend back!"

* * *

**Yeah, I'm always really mean to my favorite characters... forgot to warn you. Reviews are always welcome :) they make me want to update faster. (just to give you an idea, this is a three part story, I have fourteen chapters planned so far (just for parts one and two, haven't quite fully figured out three yet) and I have all of part one pretty much written, just not edited) so yeah, I'm planning an emotional roller coaster so hang on tight! (or get off I suppose, but where's the fun in that)**


	6. Of Rescued Friends and Altered Plans

**Here's chapter 5! thank you to all my lovely reviewers and followers!**

* * *

**Ch. 5: Of Rescued Friends and Altered Plans**

Gothel watched lazily as Vikings went about their business around her. She knew good things came to those who waited, had she not used the phrase multiple times before? But right now waiting seemed agonizing. It had been four months since the Boogeyman had given her a physical form, saving her from wandering the space between earth and the after-life forever. Still, she hungered for revenge, she wanted to use her new form and all it's power to make Rapunzel's life crumble around her.

But she had to stick to the plan, and the first real part of the plan had yet to get underway. It was infuriating! But she knew that soon enough she would have the satisfaction of ripping Rapunzel's perfect little world out from under her tiny feet. But now she had to be content with overseeing her little rabble of idiot Vikings. Gothel placed a hand on her head and massaged her temples; she had thought the ruffians and thugs were idiots, but those singing and dancing morons looked intelligent next to these Vikings! These men were bloodthirsty and savage to be sure, but that's all they were. The old woman was sure that collectively they only had half a functional brain at best.

Alvin was the most intelligent among them, she assumed that was part of how he got the position as chief. But even he thought more with his fists; he was still more on the idiot side, in her opinion. But she didn't mind partnering with idiots most of the time, even the densest muscle-head tended to recognize a superior intelligence and follow it, as long as that higher intelligence was also fearsome, and she was. That was what she needed, muscle-brained savages who will follow her every command without question.

Soon enough the plan would be put into action, and the world of the one she hated most would fall into chaos. There was nothing left now, but to wait.

* * *

"After we find Hiccup we'll go out the way we came, grab Toothless and head right back here to figure out our next move." Jack finished explaining the plan to the other four, Toothless was grumbling quietly, not happy with his part in Jack's plan. The other three were looking hopeful, but skeptical at the same time.

"Ya make it sound like it's goin' ta be tha' easy." Merida said, "An' why can't we use a snow-globe ta open a portal back 'ere when we find 'im?"

"We only have a limited supply of them, and I'd like to save them as much as possible. I'm going to bring one, but we'll use it only if we have no other escape options." Jack answered.

"Alright," Astrid stood up, "are we ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," Jack said as the other's stood as well. "Let's go get our friend back." Toothless growled in agreement as Astrid ran and jumped into the saddle, positioning her foot into the tail pedal. Rapunzel jumped on behind her, wrapping her arms around the Viking's waist and Merida climbed on after her. It was a tight fit and Toothless had never carried so many people, but he had carried Stoick and that man weighed more than all three girls combined. Jack had offered to carry someone, but Astrid insisted that Toothless would be fine, and it would be easier for everyone.

Once everyone was situated, they took off toward the island, flying close to the water to try and keep cover incase there were guards patrolling the shores. Jack flew slightly ahead; he was harder to spot and could stop the others easily at the first sign of trouble. Jack looked out to the western horizon and saw faint ships in the distance, the fleet Astrid had warned them about, less than a day out. They had to pull this off today. They were out of time.

Jack flew a little higher and scoured the shore with his eyes. He didn't see anyone, but he still motioned for the others to be cautious. They landed softly on the edge of the island, but the girls did not dismount Toothless, they wanted to be sure everything was safe first.

Toothless sniffed the air and Jack darted quickly but cautiously through the rocky outcroppings. When Toothless visibly relaxed, Astrid knew it was safe, Jack returned shortly afterwards to confirm it.

"No one nearby," he said quietly, "just like yesterday." The girls dismounted and Jack looked at Toothless. "Now remember, wait here for us, don't move unless you hear us call you or if we aren't back within the next hour." Toothless growled but nodded, he understood that it would be easier for them to sneak in and out without him, but he still didn't like it. The large dragon locked eyes with Astrid, and silently, she promised to bring back the boy they both loved most in the world.

"Stay safe, and keep out of sight," Rapunzel said to him as they started off. She held her frying pan in one hand, ready with it incase she needed to use it. Likewise Astrid had taken out her axe and Merida held her bow, ready to notch and fire an arrow at a moments notice.

Jack took them through the maze of rocks, deeper and deeper into the island. Finally they happened upon a cave, Jack motioned them to wait as he slipped inside to check it out.

"I don' like this." Merida whispered, "we havn' seen a single soul, it shouldn' be this easy."

"They've been hiding expertly," Astrid whispered back, "even if we had searched the island, we would never have found anyone. They are on the offensive, that's why we haven't seen them."

"But once in those caves we have to assume they'll be everywhere." Rapunzel said. Jack appeared from the mouth of the cave and motioned for them to stay quiet.

"Follow me, and keep close to the right wall of the cave." He instructed. "When we come up to the first right, stay down and wait, there's a ledge we can crawl on that should keep us from being seen, but I'll have to lift you each onto it one by one." They nodded him and followed him into the dark cave. Each stayed close to the right wall as they inched along, being very cautious not to make any sound and constantly keeping an ear out for any outcasts. They reached the first turn without a hitch, and Jack began to carry them up to a ledge that should easily conceal them as they continued. Jack had gotten Rapunzel up and was trying to figure out the best way to lift Asrtid without hurting himself on her spiked armor when they saw a faint glow and heard large footsteps coming around the corner.

Jack quickly grabbed the Viking girl and flew her up to the ledge. Astrid scrambled to get herself safely on the precipice so Jack could get Merida, who had notched an arrow in her bow and was watching the approaching light with cold eyes. Once Astrid was safe Jack flew down and grabbed the Scottish princess around the waist, hoisting her up to the ledge right as the man came around the corner. None of them moved or breathed for fear of alerting the man to their presence. But he walked by them, having not heard a thing.

When he was out of sight and they could no longer hear his footsteps, they let out a collective sigh of relief. "It's only going to get worse as we move further in." Jack whispered to the others. "We have to be very cautious." They began to crawl along the ledge, still listening for any sign of the Vikings.

As they crept along, they encountered more and more Vikings, but the ledge kept them well concealed. The problem came when the ledge ended, and they had to go down a tunnel that was guarded by three outcasts. Jack turned to the others, hoping one of them had a plan.

"Even if we try and make a noise over somewhere, I don't think they'd be stupid enough to all go and investigate at the same time." Astrid whispered.

"An' I don' think I could shoot all three of 'em before one of 'em raises an alarm." Merida said.

"Same with my ice," Jack muttered, "I could try, but there's no guarantee I'll get all of them, and leaving frozen or dead Vikings is a sure-fire way to alert others that something's wrong, and we don't want that."

They each quieted lost in thought before Rapunzel's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh I'm such a dummy!" She exclaimed in a hushed voice, looking at the other's excitedly. "Before our last mission, Sandy gave me a pouch of his sleeping sand. We never actually had to use it, I still have the pouch in my bag!" She rummaged through her pack for a moment before pulling out a small black pouch with golden markings. "Ta-da!"

"Genius!" Jack exclaimed, "sleeping guards is not uncommon, and hopefully will keep our presence here a secret for a while longer." He then took the pouch and flew above the guards, sprinkling a bit on each Viking until they were nothing but a peaceful slumbering heap on the floor.

Astrid jumped off the ledge and rolled upon landing, the other's looked at her with a shocked expression, the ledge was exceptionally high. The Viking just shrugged, "Dragon riders need to be able to fall safely from long distances."

Jack got the other two down and they headed off quickly down the caves, Jack flying ahead and stopping the other's when there was a guard he needed to put to sleep. With the help of the sleeping sand, their progression moved much more quickly, and soon they neared the cell.

Before rounding the last corner, Jack stopped them and peered around it. He clenched his fists when he saw his friend, knowing it would be bad, but unprepared for just how bad. Then he took stock of the "guards", four nightmares surrounding the boy and fueling his fear. The sight made the ice spirit's blood boil.

He looked back at the other's, anxiously awaiting his orders. "Four nightmares," he told them, "and he's in a barred cell. I can weaken the lock with my ice and we each take out a nightmare. Hit hard and fast, we can't give them a chance to escape." The other's nodded and Jack counted to three.

When he hit the last number they burst around the corner, Jack hit the lock with a perfect shot and Rapunzel brought her frying pan down hard onto it. The lock shattered and the door swung open. Without missing a beat the four charged into the cell.

The princess of Corona hit one under the jaw, then swung again hitting it on the side of its face sending it to the ground. Without stopping she brought the utensil in an upward arc and brought it down hard, the creatures head dissolved and it was no more.

Jack froze his nightmare before swinging his staff at it. The creature shattered on impact. Astrid swung her axe, decapitating hers, and Merida shot the remaining nightmare through the eye. It dissolved and the arrow clattered on the ground.

There was no celebrating, however as they rushed toward the boy they had come to save, still strung up painfully by the arms and completely unconscious. Astrid reached him first, putting both hands on his face and calling his name as if it would wake him up. She could have cried when she felt his pulse, assuring her he was alive, but his breathing was painfully shallow, and she knew he didn't have much time left.

It was obvious how devastated the girl was, but Jack needed her out of the way so he could get Hiccup down. He nodded at Rapunzel, and as if reading his mind, she went and wrapped her arms around the distraught girl's shoulders, pulling her away from the boy. Jack froze the chains above Hiccup's wrist and nodded at Merida as he put his arms around his friend to catch him when he fell. Merida took Rapunzel's frying pan and smashed through the chain. Jack caught him without buckling even a bit after the catch with how light Hiccup was. He shot the others a horrified look.

Hiccup whimpered unconsciously in pain as Jack lowered him onto his stomach. Merida picked the locks of the chains that held his wrists and elbows. The bringer of winter saw evidence of the torture Alvin had put his friend through all over his body. It was littered with gashes and bruises and burns, at least, that was what he could see under all the blood, dirt and grime. Jack was furious.

Once Merida had gotten Hiccup's arms free, Jack rolled him onto his back and Astrid and Rapunzel rushed over. Astrid knelt beside his head and kissed the top, running her hand through his mangled, dirty hair and whispering promises of revenge to keep herself from crying. The brunette placed her hand on the Viking's shoulder in comfort, and looked at Hiccup with a mix of despair and anger.

"We weren't prepared for this," she said to Jack and Merida, "even if I get him conscious and healed enough to walk, he can't. His leg is gone." She gestured to the missing appendage. "And healing him is going to take time we don't have, I cannot heal people as fast as I could when I had my hair." Merida nodded, they knew that even after two years of practice, channeling the healing energy through her hands was a lot harder for Rapunzel then it had been when it had gone so naturally through her hair. "I do need to heal this, though," she pointed to a few of his bottom ribs that were sticking out grotesquely. "We can't move him with his ribs like this, it's a miracle they haven't punctured his lungs already, but they will if I don't heal them now." Jack nodded and the brunette proceeded to sing her song of healing, golden light emitting from her hands.

Astrid watched, fascinated as the ribs righted themselves and the broken skin wove back into itself, not even leaving a scar. After singing through the song twice, Rapunzel stopped and wiped her bangs out of her eyes. "Alright, now we need to leave, that took even longer then I was hoping."

Merida nodded, "she's right, we have ta get out, now. We didn' give the brutes enough sleeping sand ta keep 'em asleep for very long, we're running out of time!"

"I know! I know!" Jack exclaimed, "I just..." He looked down at the unconscious boy.

"I wan' ta rip the balls off o' e'ry outcast 'ere too," Merida lifted Jack's face to meet hers, "but tha' won' do us any good now, we have ta get 'im out of 'ere."

Jack nodded and went to lift Hiccup, but Astrid stopped him. "Let me!" She begged, but Jack shook his head.

"When we get to Toothless, you need to fly him and the other two, you worry about them, I've got him." Astrid looked upset, but nodded anyway. Jack scooped up the boy and they exited the cell and started toward the tunnel.

"An' just where do ya think you're goin' with me dragon conqueror?" They whirled around to see Alvin the Treacherous standing behind them, hand on the hilt of his sword.

Before anyone could think, Astrid let out a loud scream and charged Alvin, axe ready to lop off his head. She jumped up and brought it down to slice through his skull, but Alvin unsheathed his sword and blocked it before pushing her off. She flew back and skidded to a stop, when she got herself straightened again, she charged, swinging her axe at the large Viking chief. Alvin blocked her attack and went on the offensive, swinging his sword at her neck. She ducked down just in time and used her axe to trip her foe. He fell onto his back with an almighty crash. Without missing a beat she swung her axe hard toward his prone chest, but he rolled away not a second too soon. The Viking girl let out an unearthly scream and charged the man again, intending to kill.

Jack watched her with a sick fascination. Hiccup had told him that most Vikings had wicked tempers, especially when fighting, but the boy was always so calm and collected during battle, Jack wasn't sure how true that was. But now, watching Astrid fight Alvin, he knew a Viking was not someone you wanted to piss off. Her eyes promised death, all her strikes were to kill, in this state, Jack was sure she could hold off an army.

But their time was up! He could hear shouts through the hall Alvin had come through, they needed to leave. He nodded at Merida and Rapunzel, they nodded back. The red-head notched an arrow, and sent it flying at the outcast. Alvin saw it and stumbled back, enough of a distraction for Rapunzel to grab Astrid before she jumped to attack him again, and start towards the others.

"No!" Astrid shouted, struggling against the princess, but the brunette's grip was surprisingly strong. "No! Let me go! He needs to die! I need to kill him, please!"

"You're not helping Hiccup," she said firmly and the warrior stopped, suddenly aware of the situation. "We need to leave." She nodded and they ran towards the cave opening, dodging (or kicking, in Astrid and Merida's case) the guards who had begun to wake up. But a mob of outcasts and Alvin were hot on their trail, they didn't know if they'd make it to the shore.

Jack took a deep breath and shouted, "TOOTHLESS!"

* * *

Toothless watched the four humans head into the rocks, once they were out of sight, he lay down and let out a cooning noise. They had done this before, made him wait behind if they had to sneak into somewhere. Only, sometimes Hiccup stayed with him, and other times, the dragon knew Hiccup was safe.

This time, however, his little human was the one in trouble, and he was stuck waiting for the others to bring him back. It was infuriating for the dragon, he hated feeling so powerless, but he knew he had to wait; they didn't want to let these evil men know that they were here. Toothless understood why he had to stay, he understood the plan, he understood everything, but that didn't mean he liked it. He curled into a ball on the ground, just dozing, waiting for either them to return, or a signal to burst into action.

After almost an hour had passed, Toothless started to get antsy. He paced and glared at the ground, cursing in his dragon tongue at everything he saw, and at the men who had done this. He was a Nightfury! A most ferocious dragon who was now stuck waiting like a hatchling, still too weak to go off on raids and waiting for other dragons to bring back his meal. He shot a fire bolt at the ground in frustration. He had never felt so anxious before in his life.

His ears suddenly perked up as he heard the distinct sound of metal crashing into metal accompanied by shouts from his boy's mate. He did not wait for a signal; instead, he leapt up and sped towards the sound. It wasn't long after that he heard Jack call his name. He took a flying leap and forced his legs to move as fast as they could. Something had gone wrong and his rider could be in trouble, he had to move fast.

He sniffed the air and made a sharp left, catching the scent of his boy and his companions. He saw a dark cave opening, and heard the thundering sound of a stampede of people. He reached the mouth of the cave just as Jack and his team burst from it. Panting, Astrid leapt onto him and adjusted her foot in the stirrup as the other two girls climbed on. The dragon saw that Jack was carrying his human, and that had to be enough for now, because he could see their pursuers fast approaching.

Astrid, Rapunzel and Merida felt a ripple go through the dragon's body as he unleashed a barrage of plasma blasts into the cave. They heard the chaos as the Vikings scrambled to get away, heard the breakage of rock and screams as the people inside were either burned or crushed. Toothless was furious, and he was showing it.

"Toothless that's enough!" Astrid shouted. "We have to go!" Shooting one last blast into the cave, he took to the air, following Jack back to Cannibal Island.

* * *

Alvin roared in anger as the night fury shot blast after blast into the cave. He had seen the dragon and held back while his men surged the entrance, but he had known that the night fury would be vengeful. The chief had been right, of course. He watched as some of his men were blown back and others were crushed under the large rocks, but what was worse was that the boy was now gone, and he still didn't know how to train dragons! He grabbed the Viking in front of him by the scruff of his neck and shook him angrily, then through him into the wall, taking out two more men in the process.

"Curse them!" He cried! "And curse all of ye! Not a one of ye was able to stop 'em? You're all idiots! We're on the brink of startin' a war but you lot can't even defeat a rabble o' children!"

"They were cunning, Alvin, we ne-" the man never finished his sentence as the volatile Viking chief lopped off his head with a swing of his sword.

"Anyone else got any excuses?" All the men shook their heads ferociously. "Good, now clean this mess up! Get all the wounded fixed up an' get the ships ready!"

"Ships ready for-" a glare from the furious leader silenced the questioning lips. Alvin turned and headed down the dark corridors, wanting so much just to deal with rage as he always had, killing everything and everyone in his path. He knew that would be counter productive, though, he needed his men, and while it was okay to kill a few in the measures of instilling fear and keeping his position as chief, he couldn't just go on a killing rampage. He needed his men for the war.

Sighing gruffly, he turned down a deep, narrow corridor. He was getting used to the musty smell and the rats that constantly ran over his feet down in the dark. He reached a door at the end, but before he walked inside, a voice stopped him.

"What could she possibly do for you right now?" The purring voice of the Boogie man sounded behind him. "Right now you need to re-plan."

"'M stickin' to the plan," the large man growled. "I just need to find that boy and 'is rabble o' friends." Alvin said through gritted teeth. "An' a locator spell should do just that!"

"Yes because the boy was so easy to break last time." Pitch mocked. "Have you seen the horizon? Ships stretch along it's length, ships that belong to your allies!" His voice fluxed and waned in the most convincing of ways. Persuasion was an art he had long since mastered. "Why do you need these beasts? You have my nightmares, you're army, this new army, magic, what else do you need?" The thin black figure slithered around to step in Alvin's path. Calm golden eyes met a vengeful brown. "Go to war with Berk, if you do, the boy and his allies will come, and you can kill, capture, whatever you want. Even without dragons, you are too powerful to be stopped by Jack's team or the people of Berk."

Alvin stroked his beard thoughtfully, a hideous, sinister smile spread across his face. "You're right, I can't be stopped." He chuckled, "leave the boy an' 'is friends to their devices, me an' me men are going ta war."

Pitch's face broke into a sinister shadowed grin, and the rats in the dark scampered hurriedly around their feet.

* * *

**One more chapter will mark the end of part one, but guess what? we're not even to the really good stuff yet, and I promise longer chapters filled with more content in parts two and three! Whoo**

**Don't forget to review!**


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